Wyldecrest Parks

Month: September 2015

A new report, commissioned by Park Leisure, into the holiday home market in the UK has come up with some interesting findings, confirming that the most popular location for holiday homes in the UK is on the coast, with the South West coming out as the most popular spot for people looking to buy a holiday home.

The report also found that nearly 200,000 Brits own a Holiday Home in the UK; there’s been an 80% drop in international holiday home ownership since 2007. Plus, 100% of those asked in the survey live within 3 hours of their holiday home!

The average investment in a holiday home is £55,000, in a market estimated to be worth £9.5bn. The report also reveals that the typical owner of a holiday home in the UK is a married, 40-year-old accountant from London! The capital has the most holiday home owners in the UK (34%), closely followed by those in the Wets Midlands (21%).

Half of those surveyed saved for years to fund their dream holiday home (50%), one in ten used their pension and one in five actually re-mortgaged their first home to achieve their aspiration of owning a second home for holidays. Savvy holidaymakers (16%) bought a holiday home in order to save on the long-term cost of holidays!

One of the biggest mobile park home operators in the UK is set to become the largest one in the country. Wyldecrest Parks, valued at £200 million, has added 14 new parks to its portfolio just in the last year. The company’s Chairman Alfie Best spent £13 million in new purchases in the last 12 months and expects to spend up to £17 million on new acquisitions by the end of 2015, turning his park home business into the largest one in the country.

Wyldecrest Parks, which has 43 residential and holiday mobile home parks, is the only nationwide park home operator in the UK, with sites in England, Scotland and Wales, and is already planning a possible future growth to the Irish market as well as an overseas expansion into Portugal and Spain.

“A corporate development through overseas investments is part of a strategy to move our business forward”, guarantees the Chairman, who wishes to see his business doubled by 2021. However, Alfie Best points out that he would like to start it by bringing even more Wyldecrest Parks to the attention of the British people living abroad.

“You always have to keep your eyes open to market opportunities and I personally spend most of my time in our parks across the country and work very close with all our departments”, says Alfie Best. That’s how he has noticed an increase of contacts coming from British people living abroad.

“The number of enquiries we’ve been receiving from British expats has been exponentially increasing over the last few years. Some of them are interested in a residential mobile home, which is an affordable way for them to come back to the UK; others just want a holiday home, to have a UK base to spend time with family and friends whenever they want to”, he explains.

Therefore, to open and improve the “lines of communication” from the UK to the rest of the world is, at the moment, a priority to this Essex-based company. And, according to Alfie Best, Portugal and Spain are at the top of the list due to the number of expats living there and the territorial proximity from the UK.

Market leading, park home and luxury lodge manufacturer, Omar Group, is to make a major investment in expanding its production facility at its headquarters in Brandon, Suffolk. Having delivered 25% compound annual growth over the last four years, with an outstanding 49% sales growth last year, this move is essential as part of a long-term strategic plan to support on-going growth and to address demand.

Omar has already made a major investment in its manufacturing capability, opening a new production plant in Valletta Street, Hull, in the Spring of this year; this new operation has already reached full production capacity. On this basis the company has made the decision to make further significant investment by expanding the groups production facility at its 13½ acre headquarters in Brandon, Suffolk.

Omar has appointed local contractors Bury Developments of Moseley’s Farm, Bury St. Edmunds to manage the ambitious £1.1m, 40,000 sq ft. factory extension which will include a new storage area and nine specially designed finishing bays. This new development has the full backing of Omar’s landlords, Forest Heath District Council, who are funding over £500k of the investment; a move which will subsequently create around 100 new jobs in Brandon.

Omar Group Chief Executive Dean Westmoreland commended: “We are proud of what we have achieved as a team, we have created over 200 new jobs in the last 3 years alone. This summer we have taken on 10 new apprentices in trades as diverse as Computer Aided Design, IT, Plumbing and Decorating. We are a performing business, built upon an open and honest philosophy, strong business ethics and teamwork. Our customers recognise our strong design aesthetics, quality and market-leading customer service.”

“We are very grateful for the outstanding support we have received from James Waters and the team at Forest Heath District Council; commercially our association has been a fantastic deal for the council as well as for ourselves. We recognise this as a very significant investment that will provide us with the capacity to drive our sales beyond £50m per year.”

James Waters of Forest Heath District Council said: “This makes great business sense for everyone involved. Omar is a successful company who have come a long way in the last five years. Omar have pledged their future to

Brandon, and our investment, along with Omar’s own will help their growth potential to be realised and 100 new jobs to be created in our town.”

Austin Cornish of Bury Developments commented: “We are delighted to have been awarded this major project in a competitive tender situation. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to demonstrate our capability to deliver full turnkey solutions; from the initial planning application, to handing over a full complete commercial unit. I very much look forward to working with the teams at Omar Group and Forest Heath District Council.”

This new factory development in Brandon is still subject to planning permission, but all being well, the new production facilities should be up and running by June 2016.

Can you imagine yourself in this amazing lodge? Yes, we bet you can!! 🙂 This is the Brand New Omar Ikon Lodge, based on the popular Ikon park home, and it’s simply spectacular!!

A few details to note in this stunning new lodge model include: the large master bedroom with its generous storage and indulgent en-suite; the beautiful granite-faced bath; the elegant simplicity of the hotel style beds; the large, bright kitchen / dining area with its stylish breakfast island and not to forget the spacious lounge with its stunning feature chimney breast.

Choosing a park home lifestyle is especially ideal for those looking to downsize and release equity. Life in a mobile home park is a much more affordable way of living and an economical housing option with reduced bills and outgoings. It will help you to release equity, providing you with a nest-egg for you to enjoy during your retirement.

Plus, unlike other park home operators, Wyldecrest use an independent finance company, Best Park Home Finance, so are able to offer customers guaranteed finance options. We also offer a unique part exchange scheme, where we sell your home for you and achieve the fair market value for your property, taking away the stress of having to sell your home.

Have your dream home

Due to our long and established relationships with all the UK industry leading manufacturers, Wyldecrest can offer customers a wide choice of products to suit all tastes and budgets. You can build your very own bespoke dream home: a modern, attractive, spacious, yet affordable home.

We also know how important it is to have your own outside space, so the majority of our homes have generous maintainable gardens and ample parking spaces or have their own parking facility directly next to them.

Tranquil place to enjoy your golden years

Wyldecrest Parks is really proud of their portfolio and to be able to offer the ideal locations for those who are seeking peaceful and tranquil environments to enjoy retirement. Our parks are designed for the over 50’s, to offer a way of living for retired and semi-retired people.

Our parks are safe and secure environments with live on park managers and maintenance teams to give you that extra piece of mind. They are places where the residents share the same values and lifestyle, full of community spirit, and always with someone there to help. We sure we can offer you the ultimate in that park home lifestyle you’re looking for!